A ranking of concurrent precipitation and wind events for the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The Iberian Peninsula (IP) is often affected by extreme precipitation and severe winds that are mostly associated with extratropical cyclones and their atmospheric fronts. ERA5 reanalysis data are used to revise and update two existing rankings of extreme precipitation and extreme potential wind‐loss days for the extended winter months on the IP. A ranking of concurrent precipitation and wind extreme events is produced by matching the two individual rankings for the IP and for specific IP subregions, including its main river basins. The intensity and the variability at the interannual and decadal scale are evaluated for precipitation, wind and concurrent precipitation and wind events. A systematic analysis of the underlying synoptic conditions is pursued for the top100 most extreme concurrent events including (a) cyclones' trajectories, (b) the presence of an Atmospheric River (AR), (c) recurrent patterns in the locations affected by precipitation and wind extremes and (d) possible long‐term trends. Results show that 85% of concurrent precipitation and wind extreme events are clearly associated with a cyclonic feature and most of these cyclones either cross the IP or pass to the northwest. Concurrent events are more likely occurring in the northwestern sectors of the IP on wintertime as in recent decades a downward trend for the events' frequency is observed in autumn. ARs are more likely associated with the strongest events occurring on the western sector of IP. Accordingly, the areas that mostly experience concurrent precipitation and wind extremes related to those systems are located in the northwestern sector of the peninsula.

Guidelines for Studying Diverse Types of Compound Weather and Climate Events

“…Previous studies have quantified the critical accumulated precipitation amounts that can trigger landslides (Brunetti et al., 2010; Guzzetti et al., 2007; Peruccacci et al., 2017; Zêzere et al., 2015). Given that accumulated precipitation extremes are often caused by clusters of precipitation events from multiple storms (Bevacqua, Zappa, & Shepherd, 2020; Dacre & Pinto, 2020; Priestley et al., 2017) sometimes in association with individual atmospheric rivers (Hénin et al., 2021; Ramos et al., 2015), here we investigate whether a clear relationship between precipitation clustering and landslides can be identified. Specifically, we ask: are deep‐ and/or shallow‐landslides preceded by temporal clustering of moderate to extreme rainfall events?…”

Reply on RC1

“…This type corresponds to about 30 % of the cases for wind extremes affecting Iberia. The later study of Hénin et al (2020) further documented the importance of the "hybrid type" cases for the occurrence of wind extremes in the region, though the relative number of extreme wind events associated with this large scale set up is lower (about 15 %).…”

Atmospheric Blocking and Weather Extremes over the Euro-Atlantic Sector – A Review

“…Figure 5. Schematic illustration of the hybrid type pattern with a low pressure system over the British Isles and a high pressure system over the southern North Atlantic (Hénin et al, 2020).…”